Category Archives: VQA

Ontario’s best rieslings: a collective tasting on Spotlight Toronto (and two extra tasting notes)

By winecase | Published: November 20, 2009
It’s nice when social media pushes the idea of social forward, encouraging collective thinking and group efforts. Like this Ontario riesling project that was proposed to a small group of wine writers and professionals by Rick Van Sickle, of the St Catharines Standard, and Suresh Doss, of Spotlight Toronto. Six writers, including this guy who does [...]
Also posted in Canada, Canadian wine, Niagara, Riesling, tasting, white wine, wine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tasting note: Cave Spring 1995 Beamsville Bench Riesling Icewine, Niagara Peninsula VQA

By winecase | Published: September 23, 2009
A little oxydation can be a good thing, now and then. Not only for all these wonderful, “geeky” wines from Jura, as Eric Asimov points out in his New York Times column this week (where he rightly praises the Ganevat Trousseau as a great steak wine… but that’s another story). It can even be true [...]
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Ontario, please clean up the Cellared in Canada mess

By winecase | Published: July 20, 2009
Things aren’t getting any better for Canadian wines on LCBO shelves. When I recently returned to Ontario, I was depressed to see that it’s still a struggle to distinguish between real Canadian wines (VQA wines) and Cellared in Canada wines that are made essentially (even totally, in British Columbia) from foreign grapes. The bottles are mixed on the [...]
Also posted in British Columbia, Canada, Canadian wine, LCBO, Ontario | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tasting note: Hernder Estate Wines 2000 Riesling VQA, Niagara Peninsula

By winecase | Published: March 2, 2008
Last night, I subjected my dinner guests to an experiment. Nothing cruel, I assure you. On the contrary. You see, I’ve been a fan of Hernder rieslings for many years, and five years ago, I decided to try something. Judging from the balance and ripeness I tasted, I figured that they could keep for several years. [...]
Also posted in Canadian wine, Niagara, Ontario, Riesling, white wine, wine | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

What is a Canadian wine?

By winecase | Published: August 17, 2007
My recent summer vacation in the quiet and picturesque Manitoulin Island, in Northern Ontario, was a bit ginger-peachy – as far as wines go, that is. I had some lovely wine from New Zealand, France and Ontario, but was quite depressed by the “Cellared in Canada” section of the LCBO stores. A few years ago, it [...]
Also posted in Canadian wine, Cellared in Canada, Château des Charmes, Clos Jordanne, Hernder, Jackson-Triggs, LCBO, Niagara, Peninsula Ridge, new world wines | 8 Comments